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Tiny soundtracks with big hearts: music for short films!

-Music for Short Films-

Short films need music that’s long on quality

For the most part, short films don’t get a ton of press attention at the big awards shows. But they do get recognized with their own categories. And well they ought, since they aren’t just cut down features. Rather, they’re independent art forms in their own right. It’s analogous to the difference between a short story and a novel. In a similar fashion, short films have to examine something relatively small—a short span in time or a small group of people, for instance. And they must tell a complete story about this subject in just a few minutes. As a result, they need well-produced music for short films that can quicklycreate atmosphere and an emotional response.

Music with all the feels

This year’s lineup of Oscar nominees in the Short Film (Live Action) category was a bit grim, even disturbing. So instead of dwelling on them, let’s instead celebrate the win for Bao amongst the Short Film (Animated) offering. The animation itself is of course amazing. After all, it’s Pixar. But the story is also utterly endearing, wholesome in every way. And overall the music for short films chosen for its soundtrack matches its tone perfectly.

The story follows a Chinese Canadian mother who is obviously missing her adult son. But then she makes a dumpling that comes to life as a sweet new baby. The music comprises traditional Chinese instrumentation. What’s more, it gets the clever Disney spin that pulls your emotions up and down the roller coaster. There’s a lot of feeling packed into less than ten minutes!

Mixing it up with fun results

By sticking with music that instantly evokes bygone Chinese culture, Bao quickly set up its emphasis on the strong bonds between parents and children. The gentle tunes during the dumpling’s babyhood developed quickly into emphatically boisterous tracks as it gained independence. This is certainly a great method for getting a full emotional range in a short span.

It’s even possible to be quite jarring in cutting between dissonant tracks to indicate major emotional or other thematic changes in a short. In The Katy Universe, a combination of Bollywood-lite and sci fi soundtrack makes for a surprisingly funny (and sweary) short film. These two types of music aren’t inherently related, but for this film, they work together to make sense of the main character’s experience. It’s weird and it works without a doubt.

Armin Gutjahr – Trailer Pack (Various Tracks)

Intro – Easy Jungle

Sneeky Creeky – Dark Didgeridoo

Intro – Stigmata

Intro – World’s Nature

Whether you’re thinking of a single longer track or a few short ones to cover your emotional range, Yummy Sounds is here to help. Our library has music for short films from just a few seconds to several minutes. And it also includes every genre from experimental, ambient, and orchestral to hard rock, synth pop, and much more. Equally important, you can easily browse by mood to quickly home in on your emotional target. Or give us a shout, especially if you’re looking for some custom work. We’d love to hear from you!